Bean harvesting begins

October 2, 2013

Some farmers believe the yield, or the amount of beans harvested, will be low this season because of weather.

Dave Scott, a farmer with Charles Grove Inc., farms mainly in the Ferguson area. Scott said the yield will be short this year.

Article Photos

T-R PHOTO BY STEPHANIE IVANKOVICHA tractor harvest beans outside of Marshalltown Tuesday afternoon. The bean harvesting season began last week for many farmers in and around Marshalltown.

"They're probably running 10 to 20 percent below average because of hot weather and no moisture and no rain," Scott said.

Daryl Gilmore, started harvesting Friday, south of Marshalltown.

"They're not too bad yet but they are less than your average," Gilmore said.

Carrol Bunse farms by Newton and started harvesting beans Monday.

"I think they are going to be fair, nothing tremendous, but I think they'll be good," Bunse said.

With the harvest, comes combines and farmers advise drivers to be wary on the roads. According to the Iowa Department of Transportation last year there were 176 farm equipment related crashes in Iowa and 12 were fatalities.

Dennis Kleen, driver and safety research data, at the Iowa Department of Transportation, said to always be aware.

"There is going to be a lot more farm vehicle traffic on the roads," Kleen said. "Don't get impatient and keep a close watch on them because they can be turning and you may not realize they're turning until it's to late."

Scott said people need to watch out because some equipment are without turning signals.

"There's places where we want to turn in to go on gravel roads," Scott said. "People try to pass us right then as we are turning."

The harvest season varies with the size of farm and weather.

"The season could be over in 10 days or a couple weeks or longer it depends on weather," Gilmore said.